Vichet is 18 years old and a rice farmer from Cambodia. He lives in Kompong Speu Province with his parents, who are also rice farmers. He is the youngest of four siblings. His first and second siblings are also rice farmers, while his third brother is a university student. In his free time, he enjoys playing games on his phone and helping his parents with farm work. When he was six years old, Vichet had an ear infection. This infection caused a cholesteatoma, or an abnormal skin growth, to develop in the middle ear behind the eardrum. For this reason, Vichet experiences ear pain, discharge, hearing loss, and ringing in the ear. This condition caused him to stop attending school and affects his daily communication and quality of life due to ear pain and hearing loss. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is helping Vichet receive treatment. On April 2nd, he will undergo a mastoidectomy procedure in his right ear. During this procedure, ENT surgeons will remove the cholesteatoma. His family can contribute $100, but needs help raising $377 more to fund his procedure and care. Vichet said, “I hope that after treatment, my ear pain, discharge, hearing loss, and tinnitus will get better, and that I can hear normally again.”

Mar is a 64-year-old man from Burma. He lives with his sister, niece, five nephews, and a grandniece in a refugee camp in Tak Province, Thailand. Mar is retired. His niece and sister are teachers at the camp school, while his nephews work as construction and carpentry day laborers. Their combined income is just enough to cover their daily living expenses. They received free basic health care at the camp clinic. During his free time, Mar volunteers to clean at the church. In the middle of September 2025, Mar began to experience pain in his lower back and noticed blood in his urine. He visited the camp hospital, where a doctor examined him and suspected he may have a benign mass in his prostate, and referred him to a bigger hospital for further investigation. Mar sought treatment through our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund. He is now scheduled to undergo surgery to remove the mass on February 13th. He is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. “It is not comfortable to walk with this urine tube. Without it, I cannot pass urine. I hope I can have surgery soon,” said Mar. He also added, “Thank you, BCMF, for helping me with my treatment. I hope to live without this urine tube after the surgery.”

La Min is a 21-year-old young woman from Burma. She lives with her aunt in Bangkok, Thailand. She moved to Bangkok from her village in Karen State, Burma, in 2023 in search of better job opportunities. She worked as a waitress, but had to stop because of her health. La Min has a heart condition that requires replacement of two heart valves -the aortic and mitral valves - and repair of the tricuspid valve. These valves control the blood flow between the chambers of the heart and are necessary to prevent long-term damage to the heart and lungs. Currently, La Min experiences fatigue and a rapid heartbeat while walking even short distances, poor appetite, and chest pain. Even though she has lived with her condition almost all her life, she still experiences anxiety and stress during her episodes. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 for this complex surgery. The treatment is scheduled to take place on April 10th and, once completed, will hopefully allow her to live more comfortably and have a more active and healthy life ahead. In the future, La Min hopes to continue to work in Bangkok and save enough money to return to her village in Burma. There she dreams of opening a restaurant and selling Thai food. She said, “When I lie down at night, I hear my rapid heartbeat and have trouble falling asleep. When I am very tired and experience heart palpitations, I worry that my heartbeat will stop suddenly. I want to know what the world is like without my heart disease.”